Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: anatomy

  • Herophilus, the true father of anatomy?

    Philip LiebsonChicago, Illinois, United States Although Andreas Vesalius has been considered the modern father of anatomy, long before his time there lived a Greek anatomist and physician, Herophilus (?335–255 BC), who was accused of human vivisection. He may be the true father of anatomy because of his contributions to the understanding and differentiation of organ…

  • Charles-Pierre Denonvilliers, anatomist and reconstructive surgeon

    Denonvilliers’ fascia consists of several layers of tissue that separate the prostate and seminal vesicles from the rectum. These layers are believed to prevent the spread of cancer from the rectum to the prostate. Their embryological origin and composition have long been of interest and some controversy to surgeons operating on the pelvis, as well…

  • Marie François Xavier Bichat (1771–1802)

    In the universal Pantheon of the medical greats, Xavier Bichat is remembered as “the father of modern histology.” Yet he never used a microscope. He studied the human organs with his naked eye and evaluated them for their physical features (such as elasticity, transparency, and hardness). He postulated that each organ was not a homogenous…

  • Forensic medicine and Sir Bernard Spilsbury

    JMS PearceHull, England A forensic autopsy performed to establish the cause of death is an ancient practice.1 In Europe it was preceded by conventional pathology, as started by Herophilus of Chalcedon (335–280 BC). Medicolegal autopsies to solve legal problems were first performed in Bologna in 1302. During the Middle Ages, physicians’ opinions were sought to…

  • Seasick: Lessons in human anatomy from Hyman Bloom’s The Hull (1952)

    Liz IrvinWorcester, Massachusetts, United States “I experience a gagging sensation and, still farther down, spasms in the stomach, the belly; and all the organs shrivel up the body, provoke tears and bile, increase heartbeat, cause forehead and hands to perspire.”– Julia Kristeva, Powers of Horror A cold dread crept up the back of my neck…

  • Anna Morandi, famous anatomist of Bologna

    Anna Morandi Manzolini (1714–1774) was an Italian anatomist and sculptor who created some of the most beautiful and accurate anatomical models of her time. She came from a Bologna family of artists and scientists, her father being a painter and her mother a midwife. While a student at the University of Bologna, she became interested…

  • Conflict about the clitoris: Colombo versus Fallopio

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”– Oscar Wilde The clitoris, a female genital structure anatomically homologous to the penis, was known to the ancients. In 540 BC, the Greek Hipponax made one of the earliest references to it. It was not mentioned by Hippocrates,1 but Arabic, Persian, and Roman writers…

  • The middle zone

    Alfred DavidPort Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria What sacrifices must be made in order to practice medicine? Choosing to study medicine is never a choice that should made lightly. The scope of knowledge in its various disciplines is vast, requiring an immense amount of dedication and attention to detail. Finances, social life, and a portion of one’s…

  • The two Sylvius anatomists

    Buried deep in the cobwebs of medical history lies the persisting misconception that a single person called Sylvius made important advances in the discipline of anatomy. But in fact, there were two persons remembered by that name. There was Jacobus, whose name is most commonly linked to the Aqueduct of Sylvius, and there was Franciscus,…

  • Christopher Wren’s contributions to medicine

    JMS Pearce Hull, England   Fig 1. Left: Sir Christopher Wren. From James Bissett’s Magnificent Guide, 1808. Wellcome Collection via Wikimedia. Public domain. Right: Blue plaque at Hampton Court Green. Photo by Edwardx on Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. An extraordinary natural philosopher and Renaissance man, Christopher Wren (1632–1723) (Fig 1) was primarily an astronomer and…